Across Africa, a wave of tech-savvy entrepreneurs is reversing the continent’s brain drain, leveraging global expertise to build self-determined digital ecosystems. At GITEX Africa 2025—the continent’s largest tech fair—pioneers like Claudia Makadristo (Angola/Netherlands) and Ifeoluwa Ogunbufunmi (Nigeria/UK) embodied this movement, proving that Africa’s future is being coded by its own sons and daughters.
Makadristo, founder of Kenya-based consultancy TNXT10, confessed her initial miscalculation: “I assumed companies would fight over my European degree. I sent countless résumés—silence.” After struggling to navigate 30 African markets, she discovered her edge: the ability to innovate in unstructured environments. Today, she helps startups thrive in economies where Western models fail.
“We’ve built potent innovation hubs in Nigeria, Kenya, Egypt, Rwanda. African startups securing funding grew sevenfold since 2015.”
Purpose Over Profit: Tech with Cultural Roots
Ogunbufunmi, whose firm SWIF advises 10 African governments, stresses that returnees share a mission deeper than profit:
“We launch purely African projects rooted in our cultures. This isn’t performative activism—it’s about valuing our own knowledge systems.”
Her Oxford MBA now fuels grassroots incubators from Lagos to Kigali, challenging the extractive legacy of “development” imposed by foreign NGOs.
Southern Solidarity: Disrupting Colonial Trade Routes
African tech isn’t looking north for validation. Startups are expanding across the Global South:
Nigeria’s Moove (vehicle leasing) now operates in Mexico and India.
Fintech platform Grey facilitates cross-border payments for migrant workers in Latin America.
Moroccan returnee Driss Jabar founded Cloudfret, slashing empty truck routes between Africa and Europe by 30%—”a neocolonial waste ecological and economic absurdity.”
Competitive Edge: Masters of Unstructured Markets
Makadristo identifies Africa’s “unregulated chaos” as a strategic advantage:
“Building businesses here trains you to solve real-world problems. That’s why our startups outcompete Western rivals in emerging markets.”
This agility fueled the 2024 expansion of nine African tech firms into Global South economies—a 200% jump from 2020.
Rejecting the “White Savior” Complex
The diaspora confronts colonial mentality head-on. Zambian tech executive Zanyiwe Azare (Yango) observes:
“Awareness is growing: Africa doesn’t need saviors. Our human capital is our wealth.”
Makadristo adds: “We’ve moved past glorifying returnees. Now, it’s about mutual learning—no more reality shocks.”
